Pregnancy and exercise

Swimming for me has been great. I swim front crawl, find it relaxes me and it’s more comfortable than walking at 37+6 days 😁 going for one last swim today then getting induced tomorrow.

I think exercise is very good while pregnant (if you can manage it), but my health care advisor says not to jump right in to exercise if you haven’t already been doing it prior to falling pregnant. I think you can still start exercising but maybe try finding some exercise routines that are pregnancy safe on YouTube or something like that. I personally use “Pregnancy and Postpartum TV” on YouTube. She does a variety of different exercises throughout all the trimesters, and provides alternatives if you can’t manage the exercise she’s doing. I used her when I fell pregnant with my first (I also wasn’t fit or exercising before) and now I’m using her with my second (I was exercising before).

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Are your dogs young and healthy enough for longer walks? It's best to start where you are at and work up to where you'd like to be gradually, and walking is actually a great pregnancy exercise! You can focus on setting new personal bests until baby weight & discomfort start to slow you down. If your route stops being challenging, you can go twice, jog partway, and/or add in some squats, arm circles or other stretches to add difficulty and keep it interesting. You will be able to do light walking right up until birth. Consult with your ob, but without significant complications, they will definitely allow walking. 👍

I WISH I’d been more active in pregnancy! For my next one I’m definitely going to do light exercise all the way through. It was a big regret of mine letting myself stop completely. I was out of exercise before due to ivf but really wish I’d started again doing light stuff throughout x

I got pregnant through IVF and was told to avoid heavy exercise. Used to go every day to the gym, all sorts of classes. From 20th week of pregnancy, I’ve restarted working out at the gym ( spin, body pump, circuit, yoga, swimming) and continued until week 36 of pregnancy. Very happy with my choice as my body feels strong now(6 weeks pp) , baby is healthy, I feel good in my skin. I had C- section, baby was in breach, and I’ve recovered beautifully I consider. It’s up to you how you feel about it, as long as your pregnancy goes well.

@Sophie swimming does seem nice because you exercise the whole body and also has no impact. Where you swimming before tho? I used to swim until i was 12 and i tried going back at it and i remember just feeling so exhausted and drained after going to a class i never went back at it. I think i lost a lot of my upper body strengh on my teens and it really seemed hard to get it back

@Teri i will check it out! Thank you so much!

@Bonny yes, i have two 2yo dogs and they are quite energetic. I do two walks with them daily but i keep wondering if i should start doing something that would also strengthen my core (abs and back) and my arms. I really feel like this past year i have lost all my power in my arms

@Sarah can i ask how do you feel about your recovery postpartum? I hear a lot of people saying that recovery comes easier when you are exercising and i think its also something that pressures me into it, not only because of health

@Alina this is great to know, i feel like lately i have lost all of my power, and im scared being a mom on my 30s i wont have as much energy for my baby 🥺

@Sarah I had a c section so not sure exercise would have helped or not, but I still wish I’d been more active in pregnancy just for me in general!

I used to go to the gym three or four times a week and I literally do nothing now. I can’t even go for a walk and go out of any energy after work. I wouldn’t worry too much!! Xxx

Agree with other commenter who said jumping into something you haven’t been doing might not be advised by your doc. I think staring slow and having reasonable expectations would the the route I’d take in your situation. Even as someone who had been active prior to pregnancy, I’ve found my body working VERY hard to keep up with my normal workout routine. My last pregnancy I was active until the day he surprised us by arriving 8 weeks early (was literally at the gym earlier that morning). This pregnancy I want to stay active but I’m gonna take it down a notch from last pregnancy because I still struggle a little bit with guilt that I might have gone a little too hard and contributed to his early arrival (doctor says that’s not true but it’s just a feeling I can’t shake).

@Calandria thank you for sharing your experience. I know its hard but if the doctor tells you it was unrelated it probably is. As far as I know its something that just happens and no one really knows why. If you had no spotting and advice against i really think you did nothing wrong 🥺 Sometimes we are just too hard on ourselves and demanding.